To-do list growing in Chatham County

The next commission must find the money, and political will, to take Chatham's critical repair projects off the back burner.

Posted: Saturday, October 09, 2004

Chatham County is a little like your house.

You pay taxes on it, and it takes money to run it.

Every month you have electricity, phone and water bills. And there are people you pay to maintain it: the trash man, the yard man, the bug man.

That's OK, because, like Chatham County, you have a budget to cover regular expenses.

But, unlike the county, you may also have a budget for future improvements.

The air conditioning is on the fritz and needs to be fixed. The kitchen counter top is looking ragged and should be replaced. And that growling coming from the refrigerator can't be good news.

In government parlance, such to-do items become part of a "capital improvement program."

At best, it's an account of what needs to be fixed - soon. At worst, it's a political or bureaucratic wish list, cushioned with frivolities taxpayers could do without.

In Chatham County, which is now turning the corner on past budget deficits, the unfunded capital improvement program, or CIP, is the last thing your tax dollars are going toward.

For the most part, the Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax, or SPLOST, that voters are asked to approve every five years pays for new infrastructure like roads and buildings.

But it's the repair and replacement of county property - from a new roof for the Aquatic Center to new duct work for the county courthouse - that continues to go unfunded.

Under this year's budget, $250,000 has been committed to the CIP, mainly for computer equipment and vehicle replacements, said Finance Director Linda Cramer.

That's a far cry from the total $82 million of projects that remain on the list. That list could grow.

Assistant County Manager Pat Monahan sits on a committee now reviewing the county's CIP.

He said department heads have been asked to get serious about capital improvement needs, and revisit and prioritize projects so that a new master list can be created.

"We haven't taken it as seriously as we should have simply because, in a county struggling to meet it's operating costs, no funds have been available for capital improvements," Monahan said.

In January, County Manager Russ Abolt plans to present the new commission with the list, and to recommend the board commit to a plan to begin paying for the most critical needs.

"With the exception of what is funded with SPLOST, we aren't doing any of this stuff," Abolt said. "Over the years, because there has been no funding, our enthusiasm, effort and attention to detail has been focused on other projects."